


christmas in the wastes

by fr0ntier



Category: Fallout (Video Games), Fallout 3
Genre: F/M, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-02-17
Updated: 2014-02-17
Packaged: 2018-01-12 19:32:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,206
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1196808
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fr0ntier/pseuds/fr0ntier
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Butch braves the Wastes in search of the perfect Christmas gift for his lady friend. one-shot.</p>
            </blockquote>





	christmas in the wastes

**Author's Note:**

  * For [ArtemisBrown](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ArtemisBrown/gifts).



> belated christmas gift for ArtemisBrown. love u bb

 

 

“Fuck,” Butch cursed as yet another bobby pin snapped off inside the lock. He slammed his fist against the door and huffed out a breath. Dogmeat let out a plaintive whine from beside him and trotted off around the corner of the building, leaving Butch alone to stew on his frustration.

He had come out here in search of the perfect Christmas present for Julia. Technically, the 25th had already passed, but their busy schedules and the craziness of the Wasteland hadn’t really allowed for a moment of peace, much less celebration. So here he was, stubbornly looking for something that conveyed his feelings more than a new gun or armor or not-so-stale expired Sugar Bombs could. He’d rifled through Julia’s notes on various places they had yet to explore on the outskirts of the city, and come up with this one. Rumors and transcripts of shipments between the factory and other export businesses had painted it as a horde of wealth, but for whatever reason it had remained untouched.

Julia had warned him about places like this, ones that seemed valuable and unguarded were usually elaborate traps. He had a hard enough time with simple traps, she’d said. Just as the pout began forming on his face, Dogmeat returned with a heavy sun-bleached bone in his jaws. His tail swished from side to side furiously.

“Sorry, mutt,” he muttered, and reached down to pat Dogmeat’s head apologetically, “Not sure she’s as interested in bones as much as you are.”

When he crouched to try and pick the lock for the third time, he was interrupted by a wet nose shoved into his face.

“Blech, ya bastard. Ever heard of brushin’?” Butch whined. Dogmeat nudged the bone towards his less-intelligent master and snuffled at the doorknob purposefully. Butch plucked bone from the ground and winced at the saliva now coating the stark whiteness of it. Dogmeat shifted again, and Butch raised an eyebrow.

“What? Whattya me to do with this thing, mutt?”

The weight of the bone was heavy in his hand and he almost had trouble lifting it above his waist.

“Hmm, pretty heavy. How’d you manage to carry it, anyway?”

Dogmeat watched in relief as understanding flitted across his master’s face. Sometimes he worried about the greasy-looking human. His mistress at least had a basic grasp of intelligence, but this one... Dogmeat made sure to eat food in front of him just to make sure he knew how. The little survival instincts mattered and he knew if the greasy human died, his mistress would be upset.

Twenty minutes and one very satisfied Tunnel Snake later, the front door to the building slammed shut. Dogmeat trotted happily beside Butch, who had a large rectangle tucked under his arm. It was wrapped in brown paper Butch had hoarded, stuff that didn’t look half-rotted and dirty.

“I’m tellin’ ya, she’s gonna love it. _A Beginner’s Guide to Experimenting with Nuclide Is-…Isp_ …whatever.”

Dogmeat barked in agreement.

“I mean, look at the little booger on the front. He looks happy. And the stuff glows too – that’s cool.”

Another conversational bark.

“She’s really into all that science shit. Ya don’t know this, mutt, but she used to do all these weird experiments back in the Vault, makin’ stuff blow up. Ya see the way her face lights up when she disintegrates a Raider, makes my Tunnel Snake all happy if ya know what I me-“

Butch’s ramble was broken off by a loud, wet cough. He pressed a fist to his chest, feet stuttering in rhythm before starting back up again. “Yikes, all this dust in the air.” Dogmeat whined, nudging at his wrist . “Yeah, whatever, I’m fine, let’s just get this back to Jules.”

 

* * *

 

“Butch! You-…look really sick, oh God.” Julia gasped when he stumbled in the door, leaning heavily against the frame of her Megaton house.

When he came to he was tucked comfortably into Julia’s bed, cool rag on his head and a Rad-Away drip in his wrist. He winced as he pulled it out and rubbed the sore bruise that began to form.

“Oh, good. Had a nice nap?” Butch focused on the sound of Julia’s voice. She perched next to his legs on the bed, her weight sitting comfortable and warm against his bare legs.

“Didn’t know you were that desperate to get me outta my clothes, nosebleed,” he teased, delighted at the way her cheeks pinked.

“They were contaminated. Butch, your Pip-Boy reported an increase of almost 350 rads in the last four hours. What were you doing out there?”

Butch smiled gingerly when she gripped his wrist to show him the readings. She didn’t touch him often, didn’t like when he got in her personal space, so he knew this must have been serious.

“Lookin’ for something.”

“What?” She pressed, eyes searching for any signs of pain while she wrapped a bandage around his bicep, where another bruise was beginning to form. A double dose of Rad-Away, then. Definitely serious.

“Your Christmas present, nerd,” he cracked a grin and sat up, fingers brushing hers where she worked.

“You…you uh…got me something? For Christmas?” He nodded, head tilting to the side when she reached to the nightstand and held up the wrapped gift. “This?”

“Open it.”

She did, and he suddenly had arms full of the happy, intelligent girl he’d been pining over since high school. The one he teased and bothered and even bullied, but the one he now knew meant the world to him – even if it was sappy and girly to admit.

“Butch, this is fantastic! I’ve been looking for more unstable agents to use in those corrosive material tests.”

“Merry Christmas, Jules.”

Her eyes suddenly started watering, and he blinked in surprise. Deftly, he tucked a lock of hair behind her ear and brushed some of the tears away when they fell onto her cheeks.

“Dad…Dad got one of these for me when I was little. Really little, maybe five or six. The Overseer found out and confiscated it, but. It was still one of my favorite presents.” She glanced at him, a little timidly, and then huffed out a shaky laugh. “This means so much to me, Butch. Thank you.”

She bent forward and pressed a swift kiss to his mouth, one that caught him off guard before he could wrap an arm around her waist and deepen it. She fidgeted a moment restlessly and Butch realized her hand had settled on his hip for support when she leaned over. He glanced down at her fingers and hiked one eyebrow up along with the corner of his mouth.

“I, uh. I’m going to go develop a new pulse weapon with this and disintegrate some mole rats.”

She stood abruptly and moved to the door. Butch laughed and flopped back against the pillows, throwing a wink at her when she turned back around.

“Y’know, I love it when you talk dirty.”

Julia laughed at that, loud and full and clear. “Merry Christmas, Butch,” she whispered, and flicked off the lights so he could rest.

When the door was shut and he was alone in the room, Butch let his eyes slide shut.

“Score.”

 

 

 


End file.
